THE "Shameless" family of 12 who knocked two houses into one to create an alleged illegal drinking den claim they will be left homeless when they are evicted from their home tonight.

Mum-of-ten Alviria Benjamin said her family had been victimised by Sandwell Council and she had been left to feel like a criminal.

"I have no criminal record," she said. "My only crime seems to be having had ten children."

Last month the Birmingham Mail exclusively revealed how Walsall County Court had ordered them to quit the council house in West Road, Hamstead, which had been their home for ten years.

Recorder Mary Wilson granted a possession order to Sandwell Council.

The judge said she had smelt cannabis when she went into the property and told how the family had turned their living room into a nightclub, dealt drugs from the property, posed a health hazard because of the filth, wasted police resources and caused an increase in anti-social behaviour.

The family, who denied doing anything wrong, was given 28 days to find somewhere new to live and the deadline runs out at midnight.

Ms Benjamin continued to defend her "well-behaved" family.

"The bar was just for the family," she said.

Last month, the Mail exclusively revealed pictures of the downstairs pool room and bar allegedly used as an illegal drinking den by hundreds of partygoers.

It was installed by Ms Benjamin and her partner Glenford Gordon, along with fruit machines, a gym and a steam room powered by paint strippers, Walsall County Court was told.

Council officers claimed the property, reminiscent of the one knocked through by the Gallagher family in TV's black comedy Shameless, had led to disturbances.